KickStart This! The Bray Studios- Animation Pioneers

Tommy Jose Staithes is a respected animation historian and archivist who has made it his mission to shine a light on the long-forgotten early days of animation- particularly the silent era. He's done this through giving talks like a recent event at the Academy New York, and other venues. He has also helped animation fans to see the films for themselves on DVD and Blu-ray on his Cartoons On Film label.

Having previously published a collection of rare gems on disc in the Cartoon Roots collection, he's now turning to Kickstarter to make the second collection happen. This time, however, the collection will concentrate on the now all but forgotten animation producer Bray Studios.

You may not have heard of them, but Bray were a key part of early animation history. In fact, Staithes says "they were the first successful animation studio". Between 1913 and 1927, the studio produced more than 500 films, and gave a number of future animation legends such as Max Fleischer and Paul Terry their start.

Much of these are sadly lost to history, but Staithes intends to give around 15 of the shorts the full digital restoration treatment for the second Cartoon Roots collection. The shorts will feature freshly recorded soundtracks and a number or rare extras. You can see the excellent work being done on the project in the video below.

$25 will get you a copy of the finished product. while other pledge levels will offer a range of perks, right up to a private screening for the truly flush with cash. Head over to the campaign page for more and to pledge your support. The campaign will close on September 10th 2015.

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